Anyone can be a barbarian; it requires a terrible effort to remain a civilized man.
Interpretation
Civilization requires effort and self-control, whereas succumbing to barbarism is easy.
This quote by Leonard Woolf highlights the idea that maintaining civility and a moral high ground in a world that often leans towards chaos requires significant effort and discipline. It suggests that while anyone can act primitively or without thought, it takes true strength and resolve to uphold civilized behavior and values, which can be a constant struggle against our more base instincts.
In practice
This quote can be used in a speech about the importance of maintaining ethics in leadership.
Holiness provokes hatred. The greater the holiness, the greater the human hostility toward it. It seems insane. No man was ever more loving than Jesus Christ. Yet even His love made people angry. His love was a perfect love, a transcendent and holy love, but HIs very love brought trauma to people. This kind of love is so majestic we can't stand it.
I've been so thoroughly incorporated into the California culture that I practice meditation and go to a therapist, even though I always set a trap: during my meditation I invent stories to keep from being bored, and in therapy I invent stories to keep from boring the psychologist.
Man unquestionably has impressive powers... But after all our obedience and good works, we cannot be saved from the effects of our sins without the grace extended by the atonement of Jesus Christ... Man cannot earn his own salvation.
I am talking about societies drained of their essence, cultures trampled underfoot, institutions undermined, lands confiscated, religions smashed, magnificent artistic creations destroyed, extraordinary possibilities wiped out.
Radical simply means 'grasping things at the root.'
Christ did not die to make his Father loving, but because his Father is loving: the atoning blood is the outflow of the very heart of God toward us.
Subscribe for the occasional hand-picked quote. No noise.